1. Technical Field
The present invention generally relates to motor vehicles and, more particularly, to a sport utility vehicle equipped with a rear sliding door.
2. Discussion
Sport utility vehicles have become extremely popular in recent times. Much of their success may be attributed to providing consumers with a vehicle combining the desirable aspects of a truck such as high towing capacity and cargo volume and with the characteristics of a passenger car such as vehicle handling. Some of the sport utility vehicles currently offered are large enough to provide a third row of passenger seats thereby increasing the possible number of passengers carried at one time.
Commonly, sport utility vehicles include two or four doors hingedly attached to the vehicle body for providing ingress and egress to the vehicle passenger compartment. However, the rear doors typically do not provide access to the most rearward or third row of seats without manipulating the second row of seats in some way. Specifically, one design requires each of the passengers seated in the second row of seats to exit the vehicle such that the second row of seats or a portion thereof may be articulated forward to clear a path for an entrant to the third row of seats. Obviously, it would be desirable to reduce the amount of effort required to enter and exit the third row of seats provided in a sport utility vehicle. Accordingly, a need exists for a sport utility door which provides simplified access to both the second and third row of passenger seats.
The present invention relates to a motor vehicle for transporting passengers. The motor vehicle includes a body defining a passenger compartment, a first row of seats positioned within the passenger compartment, a second row of seats positioned within the passenger compartment rearward of the first row of seats, and a third row of seats positioned within said passenger compartment rearward of said second row of seats. The second and third rows of seats have seat backs and a seat bottoms. A first door is hingedly coupled to the vehicle for providing access to the first row of seats A second door is positioned rearward and adjacent to the first door. The second door selectively encloses an opening formed in the body. The opening extends from a point forward of the seat bottom of the second row of seats to a point at least partially exposing the seat bottom of the third row of seats.